"Mr. Rockwell Graziano, patron of the arts, gourmet,
bibliophile and linguist extraordinaire has interrupted
his social calendar to record this album on the passing
scene. His timely and profound interpretation of the
love children's interest in meditation will be welcomed
by sociologists all over the world.

Mr. Graziano, when not playing polo or guest-conducting
the Philharmonic, is a lecturer in constant demand as
his command of English is only outdone by his fluency
in ancient Greek and classical Latin.

The public side of Mr. Graziano's activities are will
known to readers of the society page, but his private
life has never been revealed. His famous book, "Sixty-Seven
Ways to Prepare Chopped Steak" is believed to have
been ghost written as no one can believe that such a
busy man would take time out to create such a literary-culinary
masterpiece. Mr. Graziano slips into an apron the minute
he enters his home and is off to the kitchen before
the butler has hung up his hat.

Mr. Graziano discovered "jogging" long before
it became the popular fad it is today. He insists that
a gentleman should wear gloves and in his earlier business
days never went to work without them.

He is a familiar figure in the halls of the Museum
of Modern Art and also at the fashionable Belmont. His
collection of spode china is the envy of art dealers
the world over.

Believing the art of Chaplin to be the greatest challenge
a performer can accept he has, in this record, evoked
pathos, laughter and suspense. The world of greasepaint
and footlights can well mourn the loss of his refusal
to play the role of the melancholy Dane in 'Hamlet'
at Lincoln Center."

One of the most popular fighters of any era, Rocky
Graziano was an adored champion until the day he died.
The movie "Somebody Up There Likes Me" was
based on his life.

Graziano, whose real name was Thomas Rocco Barbella,
was a troubled youth growing up on the gritty Lower
East Side of Manhattan. It can be said that boxing saved
his life.

A crude puncher, Graziano mauled his opponents with
a tireless attack and potent right hand. Another great
asset Rocky possessed was the ability to take a punch.
His opponents ultimately withered while trying to stop
a man who appeared to made of Rock.

Graziano fought between the welterweight and middleweight
divisions, but made his mark in 1945 when he knocked
out welterweight contenders Billy Arnold and Al "Bummy"
Davis. Then he scored consecutive 10th-round stoppages
of welter champ Freddie Cochrane in non-title bouts
and closed out the year by halting Harold Green in three
rounds.

Graziano's three-fight series with middleweight champ
Tony Zale defines his career. The three contests lasted
a combined 15 rounds and saw seven knockdowns.

In the first fight, at Yankee Stadium in 1946, Zale
recovered from a knockdown to stop Graziano in the sixth
round. The rematch was in Chicago a year later because
Graziano had his license suspended in New York for failing
to report a bribe. Bleeding badly, Graziano knocked
out Zale in six to win the title.

Zale ended the series and took back the title with
a brutal third-round knockout in 1948. Graziano challenged
Sugar Ray Robinson for the middleweight title in 1952
and scored a quick knockdown early in the third but
Robinson recovered and knocked Graziano out before the
round ended.